The father was heartless—
—The daughter, emotionless.

When faced with a declaration that would normally have been shocking, the daughter simply looked up at her father in silence.

Their similar gazes met and crossed.

What could she have been thinking at that moment?

Even Talata, the person responsible for this ruthless scene, faltered at such a cold-blooded command.

Unintentionally, she muttered a single line.

“…He’s insane, isn’t he?”

Yet the daughter, who had just received such a merciless decree, neither laughed nor cried, neither despaired nor broke.

Slowly, she turned her eyes away from her father and looked up at the world bathed in a morning light so radiant it could bring tears. Her red eyes were glazed—perhaps dazed.

And then, before long, kik—

A soft chuckle escaped from Chronosa’s lips. The voiceless woman’s silent laughter echoed thunderously around the world.

It was undoubtedly the saddest laugh in existence.

Immediately afterwards, she lunged at Talata, who was standing closest and had been frozen in disbelief. It was a swift movement, unexpected from someone who was unable to use their ankles properly.

Chronosa snatched the blood-stained holy sword from Talata’s grasp. Obedient in the hands of a demon, the sword did not aim at anyone else, but at the throat of the person holding it.

Without hesitating for a moment, she brought the bloodstained sword towards her own neck, droplets of blood still clinging to its edge.

Caught off guard by this sudden act, the others could only watch. In that critical moment, it was Anankeus who stopped her.

The sword at his waist was drawn with lightning speed. He closed in on Chronosa in an instant and swung his blade at hers, which was hurtling towards her throat.

Clang!

With a fierce sound, the bloodied sword was sent flying through the air.

Anankeus caught the holy sword mid-arc in a smooth motion.

Crackle!

A sharp electric current sparked. The holy sword clearly rejected the touch of a hand that was not its master’s.

For a moment, the man and the woman locked eyes. What was it that lingered in those crimson eyes gazing towards some faraway place?

Pride.
Sorrow.
Anger.
Resignation.
Resolve…

Perhaps, it was none of those things.
Perhaps, it was emptiness.

In that split second, the deep void he had glimpsed unsettled the man’s heart.

Anankeus gave a bitter smile and struck Chronosa on the back of the neck. Her fragile body crumpled to the ground like a broken doll. Her jet-black hair scattered like embers.

Her trembling lashes, delicate as a dragonfly’s wings, finally closed, blotting out the red in her eyes.

After tossing the reclaimed holy sword back to Talata, Anankeus picked up the unconscious Chronosa and gave a curt command.

“We’re returning to Zion. Now.”

“Hey!”

“Are you still too blind to see it?”

Anankeus coldly cut off Talata’s shout, his voice merciless and sharp.

“She’s not someone you can handle.”

Neither the father nor the daughter were. They were monsters who were far more familiar with the horrors of war than Talata could ever be.

Talata’s proud dignity had been torn to shreds.

Anankeus moved on, his steps steady and cold.

The limp woman in his arms swayed helplessly with each stride.

As she watched his back retreat, Talata shouted, her voice strained with fury.

“Anankeus! I can’t go back like this! You don’t draw your sword unless there’s something to gain!”

“And who says we gained nothing?”

Anankeus cast a glance at the demon woman in his arms. As if holding something filthy, at some point he had wrapped his hands in his cloak.

“Can you still say that after watching that lunatic’s reaction? What’s the worth of a child whose own father refuses to acknowledge her?”

“Then.”

Anankeus didn’t even bother turning around. He only responded as he walked farther and farther away.

“Are you planning to stay here and face Belphegor on your own?”

“What?”

“If that’s really what you intend, I won’t stop you. Go ahead—achieve some grand military feat that’ll please His Holiness. Become the daughter you’re so desperate to prove yourself to be.”

Hearing those realistic words, Talata bit her lip hard.

This force had travelled far and wide to conquer the small city of Gulgalta due to certain strategic circumstances.

Attacking a fortress — let alone the impregnable Belphegor — was ludicrous. They were overwhelmingly outmatched.

Talata came to this realisation instantly, snorting sharply as she turned her head to the side. Her blood-soaked pink hair scattered unnaturally in the wind.

She marched forward soon afterwards, seemingly accepting Anankeus’s decision.

Accompanied by the prisoner they had captured from Gulgalta and Belphegor’s daughter, they returned to Zion, the capital of the Holy Nation.

***

The incident occurred during the ceremony commending their achievements.

“Anankeus.”

At the call of the sovereign ruler of the Holy Nation—the Holy Empire of Saint Arvoos—
the benevolent father of all holy beings, His Great and Majestic Holiness, Perihelion, Anankeus stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and bowed his head willingly.

“Yes, Your Holiness.”

“I greatly commend your service in this campaign—”

The Holy Emperor let out a strangely ominous laugh.

“I shall bestow upon you the noble daughter of Belphegor… as your slave.”

Without meaning to, Anankeus lifted his head abruptly.

Gulgalta was a small town, so there were few spoils of war worth noting. Among them, the most precious—and simultaneously the most useless—had been placed in Anankeus’s hands.

The Holy Emperor gave him a brief glance before turning his head away.

After the distribution of spoils, Anankeus was granted what was essentially a private audience with the emperor. Kneeling politely on the red carpet, he murmured in a low voice.

“Your Holiness, if I may be so bold, I must confess I do not fully understand Your will.”

Leaving aside the fact that the daughter of Belphegor was worthless as a slave, the act of granting a woman in her Season of Frenzy carried a different implication.

Season of Frenzy—

Just as animals go into heat when it’s time to bear offspring, so too do humans. But since humans are not mere beasts, this distinct period came to be known instead as the Season of Frenzy.

Thus, it was a blatant suggestion: Enjoy her during her frenzy, and use it as a time of rest.

The Holy Emperor simply asked in return,

“Do you truly not understand?”

“Idiot.”

The girl with vivid pink hair clung close to the emperor, muttering angrily. Although she was renowned far and wide for her eccentric behaviour, Talata always played the part of the clueless daughter in his presence.

With her cheeks puffed out and her lips jutting out in protest, she looked out of place.

Anankeus promptly pointed at her.

“What about giving her to Talata instead? Didn’t we go on that expedition together?”

“…Idiot.”

“She’s not even male. Doesn’t it seem strange to give her to Talata?”

Both the Holy Emperor and Anankeus ignored Talata’s irritated grumbling. In a sense, the Holy Emperor’s response was the obvious one.

After all, there were few situations in which a person would need a same-s*x slave.

When it came to personal matters, most people preferred a servant of the same s*x — someone they could trust.

“Someone like Aether would handle a role like this much better. This task is ill-suited to me.”

“Aether, huh… Yes, you’re right. To be precise, Aether would be the best person to handle her, regardless of the method. He might still covet her even now that the reward ceremony is over.”

Mentioning someone whose nature suited this kind of work, the Holy Emperor nodded in agreement.
However—

“But Aether didn’t take part in this expedition. I have no reason to give her to him. You or Talata are my only options. Naturally, I chose you.”

His reasoning was impeccable. Rising leisurely from his seat, the Holy Emperor’s low voice echoed through the hall.

“Her mother died early.”

He slowly stepped forward, descending toward Anankeus.

Tap, tap.

The sound of his slow steps filled the hollow temple.

“And now, the poor little female has been abandoned even by her father.”

He turned his head slightly to look at Talata. Seated obediently in her place, she returned his gaze with a sweet smile.

The Holy Emperor had six children, but it was his youngest daughter, Talata, whom he cherished the most. He would never have traded her for anything in the world.

Such was the heart of a parent.

‘He told her to die with honor.’

To a girl he could’ve easily saved—even now, if he so wished.

“What could she possibly know about any of that?”

The Holy Emperor’s aged hand gripped Anankeus’s shoulder. Even in that simple gesture, there was a heavy sense of trust.

“I’ve heard reports that she was subjected to severe abuse in the demon realm.”

Anankeus lowered his gaze.

If that could be called abuse—then yes, it was abuse.

Her vocal cords had been removed. Both of her Achilles tendons had been severed. She couldn’t speak, could barely breathe, and standing upright for more than a few minutes was a struggle.

And yet, she was said to be a princess. A high noble, one of the most prominent in the demon realm.

“Fitting, isn’t it, that it’s the Season of Frenzy? A time when females search for males to cool their burning heat.”

I wish that male to be you.

Though unspoken, the words echoed clearly in Anankeus’s ear.